The Association of Online Publishers (AOP) and The Media Trust have partnered to launch the UKs first ad quality and malware prevention co-operative. The partnership will provide AOP members with discounted access to The Media Trusts SMART technology.

The Media Trust focuses on monitoring and protecting the online and mobile ad ecosystem, and aims to support publishers in gaining control over ads served on their sites, improving the overall reader experience and mitigating ad fraud.

“Im very excited to be working with the AOP and the UKs top premium publishers to bring malware prevention, data transparency, and ad quality assurance to the market,” said Matt ONeill, general manager for Europe at The Media Trust. “This consortium offers a uniquely exclusive opportunity for publishers to curtail ad block installs, prevent data leakage and theft, reduce operational costs and overheads, and ensure a better ad experience for their readers and users.”

The co-operative will provide AOP members with a significant discount of The Media Trusts SMART technology, a suite of monitoring, detecting and alerting services that protect online publishers and apps against malvertising, as well as assuring digital ad quality, performance and data privacy.

“Tools that enable premium publishers to protect both users and themselves from the increasing risk of malicious software are essential in todays digital publishing ecosystem,” said Richard Reeves, managing director of AOP. “We welcome the opportunity to partner with The Media Trust and offer AOP members exclusive cost benefits, which will help to remove entry barriers for services that not only detect ad fraud, but also create a better user experience for readers.”

The program will provide real-time control to publishers, enabling 24/7 enforcement of all security, data privacy and creative policies for every ad served, and giving publishers granular visibility and control for their sites and apps.

By improving the quality of advertising security and eliminating incidences of malvertising and ad fraud, the co-operative hopes to restore trust with consumers who are increasingly blocking advertising.

“Ad blockers exist because the digital advertising chain failed to address the growing number of poorly performing or misplaced ads,” said Chris Olson, CEO and co-founder of The Media Trust. “Consumers have clearly run out of patience, so its critical media publishers implement the policies, processes and technology that ensure they only serve high quality ads, which are free of malware and always perform as intended.”

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